Jogging device



Nov. 6, 1962 D. N. OBENSHAiN JOGGING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 24, 1960 INVENTOR.

DAVID N. OBENSHAIN Nov. 6, 1962 D. N. OBENSHAIN JOGGING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 24, 1960 INVENTOR.

DAVlD N. OBENSHAI N D. N. OBENSHAIN 3,062,539

JOGGING DEVICE Nov. 6, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 24, 1960 1 LO m e u.

INVENTOR.

DAVID N. OBENSHAIN M aw...-

3,062,539 JOGGING DEVICE David Noel Obenshain, Luke, Md, assignor to West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 24, 1960, Ser. No. 51,677 15 Claims. (Cl. 27189) This invention relates to vibratory apparatus for bringing the edges of a group of sheets of material into registry. More particularly, it relates to a mechanical jogger for jogging sheets of paper into an aligned stack.

In general, this invention provides for a jogging device which may be used in combination with any suitable source of sheet material supply, and it finds special utility in the field of stacking paper received from such devices as web cutters or printing presses and the like.

The invention also provides for a mechanical jogger which quickly aligns sheets of paper as received at the top of a stack into registry with the edges of the stack.

The jogging device provides a paddle for jogging the sheets of paper as they are received. The vibratory motion of the paddle is created by oscillation of abearing assembly mounted on leaf springs and vibrated through the action of eccentric weights driven by suitable power means. The vibratory motion of the paddle is extremely rapid, and the patting action of the paddle ably lowered by any suitable means to keep the top of the stack at a relatively constant level as additional sheets are supplied to the stack.

Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and drawing forming part of this specification.

FIGURE 1 is a side sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is an oblique view of one of the eccentric discs forming part of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a side sectional view of a further embodiment of the novel jogging device;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the novel jogging device during an illustrative stacking operation.

' A preferred embodiment of the mechanical jogging device of the present invention is shown in FIGURES 1 to 4. The base of the device includes a plate-like body 10 supporting paper guides 11 and front and back leaf springs 12 and 13 mounted at right angles to the base member 10. Leaf springs 12 and 13 serve to flexibly support bearing plates 15 and 16, and jogging paddle 17. Rear leaf spring 13 is mounted between back end plate 14 and retaining plate 18, and back end plate 14 is rigidly attached at each end to bearing plates 15 and 16. Front leaf spring 12 is mounted similarly between front end plate 19 and retaining plate 20. Jogger paddle 17 is suitably fastened to front end plate 19, leaf spring 12, and retaining plate 20, and front end plate 19 is rigidly attached at each end to bearing plates 15 and 16. The rectangular structure formed by bearing plates 15 and 16, front and back end plates 19 and 14, lies in a plane which is parallel to the plane of the base member 10 and flexibly supported above the base member 10 by leaf springs 12 and 13.

Front and back end plates 19 and 14 and the retaining plates 18 and 20 may be omitted, and the spring leaves 12 and 13 may be attached directly to the ends of the 3,062,539 Patented Nov. 6, 1962 bearing plates 15 and 16. The jogging paddle 17 is then fastened to leaf spring 12. However, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the end plates and retaining plates are employed as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3.

The bearing plates 15 and 16 serve to house the ends 30 and 31 of spindle 32 having threaded portions 33 and 34. Timing belt pulley 35 is mounted concentric with spindle 32 mid-way between the ends of spindle 32. Eccentric discs 36, 37, 38, and 39 are also concentrically mounted on spindle 32 with discs 37 and 38 positioned immediately adjacent each side of pulley 35. Lock nuts 40 serve to lock the eccentric discs 36, 37, 38, and 39 and pulley 35 to prevent slippage along the longitudinal axis of spindle 32. The ends 30 and 31 of spindle 32 are suitably housed within bearing blocks 41 and 42 of bearing plates 15 and 16. Ball bearing 43 is retained on the spindle end 30 by snap ring 44, and ball bearing 43 is retained within the bearing block 41 by snap rings 45 and 46. Ball bearing 47 is retained on spindle end 31 by snap ring 48.

An electric motor 50 is mounted on the base member 10 and has a drive pulley 51 fast on shaft 52. A timing belt 53 over drive pulley 51 drives pulley 35 mounted on spindle 32 to rotate the latter and eccentric discs 36, 37, 38, and 39. In the preferred embodiment, motor 50 rotates drive pulley 51 at about 1725 r.p.rn., and a two to one reduction from drive pulley 51 to pulley 35 has been employed to rotate pulley 35 at about 862 r.p.rn., and to provide paddle 17 with a vibrating frequency of about 862 strokes per minute. However, a greater or lesser frequency of vibration may be desirable, and to this end, frequencies of from to 2000 strokes per minute have been employed satisfactorily, depending upon the type of jogging action required.

Eccentric discs 36, 37, 38, and 39, mounted through their center onto spindle 32, are preferably all the same in weight and size. Brass discs have been employed and have been bored out as shown in FIGURE 4 to provide an uneven weight distribution about their centers. The discs have been paired on either side of pulley 35, and it is through this pairing that'proper vibratory motion is supplied to paddle 17. As spindle 32 rotates and carries the eccentric discs, a vibratory motion is provided to spring leaves 12 and 13 which, in turn, causes the rectangular structure of bearing plates 15 and 16, front and back end plates 19 and 14 to vibrate and provide such motion to jogging paddle 17.

The inside discs 37 and 38 are positioned on spindle 32 such that the three holes 54, 55, and 56 of each of the discs are spaced adjacent each other and axially thereof. These two discs always remain in this relation ship. Discs 36 and 39, the outside discs of each pair, control the amplitude of the to and fro motion of the jogger paddle through their angular relation to each of the inside discs 37 and 38. For example, taking the paired discs 36 and 37, maximum eccentricity of the pair occurs when disc 36 is positioned with relation to disc 37 such that the three holes 54, 55, and 56 of each disc are exactly aligned, and minimum eccentricity is provided when the holes of disc 36 are out of alignment with the holes of disc 37. The outside disc 39 of the second pair of discs 38 and 39 is positioned about the spindle in exactly the same fashion as disc 36, such that the holes 54, 55, and 56 of disc 39 and disc 36 are in adjacent spaced relationship With each other at all times just as the inside discs 37 and 38 are to each other as previously described.

The importance of employing four such eccentric discs is found in the type of motion provided to the jogging paddle. The paddle vibrates with a simple back and forth (to and fro) stoking motion, which is substantially free of any lateral and rotational motions, forward and backward of the rest position of the paddle. The use of four discs as described above prevents rotational motion about the vertical axis passing through the center of pulley 35 and prevents the jamming and wear on bearings 43 and 47 which would occur should such motion be allowed. Eccentric members other than discs may be employed in the above fashion to provide the type of motion described.

The rapidity of the vibrating motion of the jogging paddle and the ease of control of the amplitude of such motion provides my novel jogging device with the ability to handle many sizes of paper sheets and stack them uniformly. The unit may be mounted in any suitable position, as for example as shown in FIGURE 6, and the unrestricted mobility of the device lends greatly to its usefulness. Several such devices have been used to stack paper sheets with measurements as large as 56 x 77 inches very satisfactorily with an arrangement similar to that shown in FIGURE 6 in which paper sheets S are jogged into registry with the stack through the combined jogging action of several devices according to the present invention. The joggers 89 are arranged with two joggers per stack side. A hydraulic lift 81 has been shown as a means to keep the top of the stack at a relatively constant level.

in some instances the variable amplitude feature may not be required and a single pair of discs of proper unbalance may be employed, one on either side of the pulley 35.

The paper guides 11 on either side of the jogging paddle 17 may be used as desired, and I have found their use preferable. They function not only to act as a stop and guide for paper sheets delivered to the top of the stack, but they also act to prevent binding of the jogging paddle due to the weight of a group of sheets overcoming the vibrating action of the paddle. As shown in FIGURE 1, the paper guides 11 extend about 3/32 inch in front of paddle 17 when the latter is in the rest position. At the lowest amplitude of vibration provided with my device, the paddle vibrates at least this distance forward from the rest. position to strike the edges of the paper sheets collected.

A protective cover 56 is provided, as shown in FIG- URES l and 2,]and is mounted to base to shield the eccentric 'diScs and spindle. The cover 56 is positioned such that when the jogging paddle I7 vibrates at the greates amplitude, said, paddle does not contact the top portion of'the cover.

The material for the spring leaves employed is spring steel of .020 inch thickness, and each spring has the dimensions 5 /2 x3 inches. Any other suitable flexible material may also be used.

The jogging paddle shown in FIGURE 1 is a nylon plate having dimensions 5 X 5 x inches. Stainless steel plates have also been employed, and any suitable material, metal or plastic and the like, may also be used.

A further embodiment of my invention is shown in FIGURES, and differs from FIGURE 1 in that one of the leaf springs has been replaced with a paddle 60 made of flexible material and attached directly to base member 61 and bearing plates 62. The bearing plates, carrying a spindle 63 upon which are mounted a pulley 64- and eccentric discs 65, are suspended above the base member 61 by leaf spring 66 and paddle 60. Rotation of the spindle and eccentric discs provides for a vibrating motion. of the flexible paddle as previously described for the preferred embodiment. Paper guides 67 have been provided on'each side of paddle 60 to stop the sheets of paper when received on the stack and. to prevent binding of the paddle. The jogging paddle 6t} is. preferablyofiset slightly from the vertical plane of the paper guides 67 to allow for greater surface of the paddle 6t) to engage sheets of material as. they are received for stacking.

Nylon paddles of dimensions, 8 x4x inches have been employed satisfactorily in this manner. Portions of the paddle have been grooved out at 68 and 69 to widths of inch to allow for greater flexibility at these hinge points. The jogging action provided with this embodiment is very much similar to that of the device shown in FIGURES l to 4. While nylon paddles have been used exclusively in this arrangement, any other flexible material, plastic or metal, could be employed.

It has been found desirable to keep the mass of the bearing plates to a minimum in order to achieve ample vibratory motion of the jogging paddle. As shown in the drawings, the bearing plates have been lightened in mass by boring holes 70 and 71 in plates 15 and 16 of FTGURE l and holes 72 and 73 in plates 62 of FIG- URE 5. Steel bearing plates of dimensions 3% x 1% x /2 inches have been employed satisfactorily. Lighter materials could be employed without the necessity of boring them out.

In the embodiments shown in the drawing, an electric motor has been used to drive two pulleys linked by a timing belt to rotate the eccentric carrying spindle. How ever, the drive from the motor to the spindle may be accomplished by any other suitable means.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that various changes may be made therein and the invention embodied in other structures, and it is not intended to limit the patent to the. specific constructions illustrated.

I claim:

1. A jogging device for positioning sheet material. in continuous stacking operations comprising, in combination, a base, front and back spring-leaves attached at their lower ends to opposite sides of the base, front and back end plates attached respectively to. the. upper ends of the front. and back spring leaves, bearing plates mounted parallel to the base and attached to the front and back end plates, said bearing plates. meeting the end plates at right angles, a sheet engaging, jogging paddle attached exte-- riorly to the front end plate and parallel to the spring leaves, sheet guides. mounted on the base spaced at each side of the front spring leaf, paired eccentric discs mounted on a spindle supported-at its ends by the bearing plates and suspended therebetween, and means for rotating the 2. A sheet jogging device comprising, in combination,

a base member, a flexible spring member attached at one end to the base, a flexible jogging member attache-d directly to said base member opposite the flexible spring member, bearing members mounted above the base memher and supported by the flexible spring and jogging members, eccentric members mounted on aspindle supported by the bearing members, and means for rotating the occentric carrying spindle.

3. A jogging device for positioning sheet material in continuous sheet stacking operations comprising, in combination, a base, a spring leaf attached at one end to a side of the base, a flexible sheet engaging jogging paddle attached to a side of the base opposite said spring leaf, bearing plates mounted parallel to the base and supported by the spring leaf and the jogging paddle, paired eccentric discs mounted on a spindle supported at its ends by the bearing plates and suspended therebetween, and means for rotating the eccentric carrying spindle to vibrate the spring leaf and jogging paddle in unison with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions.

4. As in claim 3' in which the eccentric discs have' a plurality of holes spaced in one-half of'their surfaces,

whereby the amplitude of vibration of the spring leafand jogging paddle is controlled by rotatably adjusting the alignment of the holes in each of the paired eccentric discs, said amplitude of vibration being greatest when the holes in each of the paired eccentric discs are exactly aligned, and said amplitude of vibration decreasing as the holes in each of the paired eccentric discs become increasingly disaligned.

5. As in claim 3 in which the frequency of vibration of the jogging paddle is in the range of 150 to 2000 strokes per minute.

6. A jogging device for positioning sheet material in continuous sheet stacking operations comprising, in combination, a base, a spring leaf attached at one end to a side of the base, a flexible sheet engaging jogging paddle attached to a side of the base opposite said spring leaf, sheet guides mounted on the base spaced at each side of the jogging paddle, bearing plates mounted above the base and supported by the spring leaf and jogging paddle, paired rotatably adjustable eccentric discs having a plurality of holes spaced in one-half of their surfaces mounted on a spindle supported by the bearing plates, and means for rotating the eccentric carrying spindle to vibrate the spring leaf and jogging paddle in unison with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions, whereby the frequency of vibration of the jogging paddle is in the range of 150 to 2000 strokes per minute and the amplitude of vibration of said jogging paddle is controlled by rotatably adjusting the alignment of the holes in each of the paired eccentric discs, said amplitude of vibration being greatest when .the holes in each of the paired eccentric discs are exactly aligned, and said amplitude of vibration decreasing as the holes in each of the paired eccentric discs become increasingly disaligned.

7. In a jogging device, a base, a flexible jogging member attached directly to said base, a flexible spring member attached at one end to said base opposite the flexible jogging member, means supported by the jogging member and spring member for imparting a vibrational motion alternately in opposite directions to said jogging member and said spring member, and means for driving said motion imparting means.

8. A jogging device as defined by claim 7 in which the motion imparting means comprises a rotatable shaft, paired eccentric members mounted on said shaft, and bearing members at each end of said shaft.

9. A sheet jogging device comprising, in combination, a base, front and back flexible support members attached at their lower ends to two opposite sides of the base and parallel to each other, bearing members mounted above the base and supported by the front and back flexible support members, sheet jogging means attached exteriorly to the front flexible support member and parallel thereto, eccentric members mounted on a spindle supported at its ends by the bearing members and suspended therebetween, and means for rotating the eccentric carrying spindle to vibrate the flexible support members in unison with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions, whereby said sheet jogging means attached to the front flexible support member is also vibrated with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions.

10. A sheet jogging device comprising, in combination, a base, front and back flexible support members attached at their lower ends to two opposite sides of the base and parallel to each other, bearing members mounted above the base and supported by the front and back flexible support members, sheet jogging means attached exteriorly to the front flexible support member and parallel thereto, sheet guides mounted on the base spaced at each side of the front flexible support member, eccentric members mounted on a spindle supported at its ends by the bearing members and suspended therebetween, and means for rotating the eccentric carrying spindle to vibrate the flexible support members in unison with a simple back 6 and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions, whereby said sheet jogging means attached to the front flexible support member is also vibrated with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions.

11. A jogging device for positioning sheet material in continuous sheet stacking operations, comprising, in combination, a base, front and back spring leaves attached at their lower ends to two opposite sides of the base, front and back end plates attached respectively to the upper ends of the front and back spring leaves, bearing plates mounted parallel to the base and attached to the front and back end plates, a sheet jogging paddle attached exteriorly to the front end plate and parallel to the spring leaves, eccentric members mounted on a spindle supported at its ends by the bearing plates and suspended therebetween, and means for rotating the eccentric carrying spindle to vibrate the spring leaves in unison with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions, whereby said sheet jogging paddle attached to the front end plate carried by the front spring leaf is also vibrated with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions.

12. A sheet jogging device as in claim 1 in which the frequency of vibration of the sheet jogging paddle is in the range of to 2000 strokes per minute.

13. A jogging device for positioning sheet material in continuous sheet stacking operations comprising, in combination, a base, front and back spring leaves attached at their lower ends to two opposite sides of the base, front and back end plates attached respectively to the upper ends of the front and back spring leaves, bearing plates mounted parallel to the base and attached to the front and back end plates, a sheet engaging jogging paddle attached exteriorly to the front end plate and parallel to the spring leaves, sheet guides mounted on the base spaced at each side of the front spring leaf, paired rotatably adjustable eccentric discs having a plurality of holes spaced in onehalf of their surfaces mounted on a spindle supported at its ends by the bearing plates and suspended therebetween, and means for rotating the eccentric carrying spindle to vibrate the spring leaves and jogging paddle in unison with a simple back and forth motion substantially free of lateral and rotational motions, whereby the amplitude of vibration of the spring leaves and jogging paddle is controlled by rotatably adjusting the alignment of holes in each of the paired eccentric discs, said amplitude of vibration being greatest when the holes in each of the paired discs are exactly aligned, and said amplitude of vibration decreasing as the holes in each of the paired eccentric discs become increasingly disaligned.

14. In a jogging device, a base, front and back spring leaves mounted at their lower ends on two opposite sides of the base and parallel to each other, a sheet jogging member attached exteriorly to the front spring leaf, means supported by the spring leaves above the base to vibrate the spring leaves in unison with a vibrational motion alternately in opposite directions, and means for driving said motion imparting means, whereby said sheet jogging member attached to the front spring leaf is also imparted with a vibrational motion alternately in opposite directions.

'15. A jogging device as defined by claim 13 in which the motion imparting means comprises a rotatable shaft, paired eccentric members mounted on said shaft, and bearing members at each end of said shaft.

References Cited in the file of'this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,277,511 Daneke Mar. 24, 1942 2,398,777 Burke Apr. 23, 1946 2,573,164 Scheinker Oct. 30, 1951 2,629,592 Line Feb. 24, 1953 2,661,950 Brown Dec. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Noe. 3 O62 539 November 6 1962 David Noel Oloenshain I It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patv ent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 6 line 63 for the claim reference numeral "13" read l4 Signed and sealed this 21st day of May 19630 (SEAL) Attest:

DAVID L. LADD ERNEST W. SWIDER Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

